The Shooting Star Ship.

As the Rangers' home base flew through the Cepheus System, en route to their destination, Winda picked something up on the relay. "Incoming transmission from the planet Niloas.", she reported.

"That's odd.", Drago said. "No-one on that planet should know we're coming. They're not an advanced civilisation."

"It might be a declaration of war."l Proton suggested. "Everyone should get into position, just in case."

Winda brought up the message, which showed a young, humanoid male. "I know him.", Mila realised. "That's Kota, my best friend from the Verde ninja school on planet Talpa. Play the message."

Winda complied. "Hey, Mila.", Kota said. "I heard that you joined up with other Power Rangers, like you. And that you've been freeing the universe from Gingaku. I think that the monks of his planet have something that could help you in your journey. But you'll have to come and see for yourself." The message ended there.

Myron was apprehensive about the message. "Something seems off about this.", he said. "Are you sure we can trust this Kota guy?"

"Oooohhhh, someone's jealous.", Mila said jokingly. She smacked Myron on the back. "Don't worry, I've known Kota since we were both kids. I'd trust him with my life." She walked off, preparing to depart for the planet.

Planet Niloas, Cassiopeia System.

A landing party, consisting of Yuri, Myron, Jiro, Cobras, Mila, Winda, Drago and Proton made planetfall. Once they did so, they saw a squat creature, with an oriental style outfit and a helmet with a tiled pattern. "Where are they?", the alien said to himself. "They should've been here by now."

"Who's he talking about?", Cobras asked.

"I think he's in the Gingaku files.", Winda replied. "But I can't access his for some reason. He must be planning a sneak attack."

"Well his plans going to go like those of mice and men.", Mila said, jumping out to confront the alien. "Hey ugly."

The alien turned to face her, with a look of panic. "You're here."

"Of course I am.", Mila said, pulling out her Cosmo Blade. "And you soon won't be."

"Um, on second thought, I think I hear my mother calling.", the alien said. "Gotta go." He turned and ran off into the woods.

"Come back here.", Mila said, running off after him.

From the bushes, Yuri facepalmed. "Did she really just…?"

"Yes she did.", Myron answered her. "Then again, it's not surprising. Remember what she told us about how she met Drago?"

"How could I forget?", Drago asked. "I was there."

"Anyway, we'd better follow her.", Proton said. He led everyone in getting out of the clearing and into the woods.

In the woods, Mila was running until she saw someone ahead of her. "I've got you now, freak.", she said, charging towards him and knocking him down. But then she got a good look at who she'd attacked.

"Hey, is that anyway to greet an old friend?", Kota asked. "I'm surprised you were out here already."

Mila hugged him. "I'm so sorry, Kota. I thought you were someone else for a second.", she said.

The other Rangers came running. "Where's the emergency?", Jiro asked.

"It seems to have left on its own.", Cobras answered. "But Mila seems to have found something else."

"Speaking of whom.", Yuri said as he went over to Mila and slapped her. "That's for running off on your own." Then he noticed who she was with. "You must be Kota."

"Indeed I am.", Kota replied, bowing. "And you're the famous Power Rangers hove been saving the universe. The honour is all mine."

"Yes, 'honour'.", Myron said. "How exactly did you hear of us?", he asked Kota.

"I… heard of you when I set off into the universe.", was Kota's answer.

"And you managed to get away from your planet how?", came a follow-up question. "Coiloga said he destroyed he Verde school's students after Mila left."

"I wasn't with the school during the invasion.", was Kota's answer. "I managed to get away and find a ship, using it to fly away from Talpa. That how I ended up here."

"I think that's enough questions for now.", Mila said, putting herself between the two men. "How about you introduce us to the monks of this planet?"

"It's my pleasure.", Kota said. "Follow me."

As he led the group on, Yuri went over to Myron and whispered "What was that about? You seemed a lot more abrasive than usual about this guy."

"Something about him stinks.", Myron whispered back. "How did he know we were called the Power Rangers if he came straight here? Talpa was cut off from the universe, as is this planet."

Yuri gained a shocked look on his face. "Should we keep an eye on Kota then?"

"Maybe."

The Shooting Star Ship.

Up in orbit, Heath was voicing similar suspicions to Slash, Scales, Tarrant and Barry. "Something stinks about Corvelia. She's hiding something.", he said.

"What makes you say that?", Barry asked.

"She looks like a Horusian, but a few days ago, she was drinking lemonade.", Heath answered. "That would've corroded a real Horusian's internal organs like a robot drinking battery acid. Uh, no offence Scales and Tarrant."

"None taken.", the former replied. "You're not the only one noting something off. The other day, I saw her taking a spanner into the lab for what she said was an old project. But I distinctly remember her being classified as a biologist and a cosmologist, not a mechanic."

"I've heard enough.", Tarrant said, pounding his fist on the table. "We need to find out what's going on around her and stop it."

"Well what're we waiting for?", Slash asked. "Let's do this."

Planet Niloas.

Kota led the Rangers into a temple where, they saw several warriors practising fighting moves. "The people here believe in discipline of the mind and body in order to improve one's self.", Kota explained. "They were all too happy to take me in when I came to this planet."

"I see.", Myron said as he looked at the monks, hoping to find something off. But nothing appeared to be.

"Ah, I see we have some newcomers to our humble order's temple.", an elderly-looking humanoid woman with red skin said.

"Grand Abbottess, this is a friend of mine.", Kota said, indicating Mila. "I invited her to visit me here on Niloas."

"Ah, I see.", the Grand Abbottess nodded. "And I also see that she brought some friends along with her. How delightful. Perhaps your friend would like to accompany me, Kota."

"Good idea.", Drago said. "Where should we go."

The Abbottess put her hand up, outstretched. "I'm sorry, but the offer doesn't extend to you people. Only the female.", she said.

"That's not fair.", Jiro whined. "We want to see this too."

Mila interjected in the argument. "If I may, Grand Abbottess. Guys, I don't need you following me around here. I'm in a camp of martial artists, just like the one I grew up in. I should be able to feel at home without you following me around."

"A very sound suggestion, Mila.", Kota said. "Shall we go?"

The Grand Abbottess led Mila and Kota away, into what Yuri presumed was the great hall. The rest of the Rangers were surrounded by the monks, who stopped training and turned toward the Rangers, menacing looks on their faces.

The Shooting Star Ship.

In the lab, Corvelia was working on a project. "It won't be long now.", she said. "Soon my surprise for the Rangers will be ready."

Then she heard a slam on the door. "Open up.", Slash called out. "We know you're in there."

"Curses.", Corvelia said, covering her work with a blanket and opening the door, allowing the Rangers in. "What's the trouble?", she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Don't play the innocent.", Tarrant said. "We're onto you Corvelia, or whoever you are. Because we know you're not her."

Corvelia tutted. "I should've known that you'd cotton on eventually. Yes, I'm not the real Corvelia. That traitor is rotting somewhere I don't care to find out about. I faked her information to infiltrate this ship and send information back to Gingaku."

"Well we've established what you're doing here.", Scales said. "But we don't know who you are."

"Ah yes, the DNA cloak I'm wearing works too well.", the enemy said, before pulling out a device. "Perhaps this should clear things up." She pressed the button and began dancing around as her image faded into another. "Ah, that's better.", Tricerodo said. "How do Horusians cope with all of those feathers?"

"I know you.", Scales said. "You're that witch who turned my buddy into your patsy."

"How nice of you to remember me.", Tricerodo said. "Let's see if you remember my comrade here." The blanketed experiment rose up to reveal Coiloga, back from the grave. "I wasn't able to bring his mind back to normal, but I did restore his motor functions."

"So that's why she recovered his body.", Barry realised. "We need to stop these two here."

"Indeed.", Slash said, leading everyone in pulling out their Cosmo Spheres. "Cosmic Energy, Un-" They were interrupted by a charging Coiloga, with Tricerodo also joining in the fight.

Planet Niloas.

The Rangers were still staring down the monks. It was Jiro who decided to break the tension. "Hey guys, let's not get off on the wrong foot." He brushed his claws against the nearest monk's robes. "After all, we are honoured…" he saw that he had torn the monks outfit to reveal a Gingaku logo "foot."

The monks all pulled off their robes and faces to reveal that they were Detainers. "It's a trap.", Drago declared. "They were waiting for us."

The Rangers and Detainers engaged in combat with each other. "How did Kota and the Abbottess not know about this?", Winda asked.

"Maybe they did.", Myron suggested. "There's no way this kind of infiltration would go unnoticed. I was right about Kota." He did a quiet fist-pump while saying this.

"Never mind that now.", Yuri said. "Mila's in danger. We need to get to her." He and Myron pushed a pair of Detainers aside and ran for the Great Hall.

And in the Great Hall, Mila was admiring various artefacts. "This coronet is really beautiful, Grand Abbottess.", she said.

"Why thank you.", the Grand Abbottess said. "Perhaps you'd like to try it on."

Mila was surprised to hear this. You'd really allow me to do this? Me, an outsider?"

"It's a sign of respect.", Kota informed her. "We do that to all newcomers."

"Okay then." Mila sat down and allowed the Abbottess to pick up the coronet and place it on her head.

It was at that moment that Yuri and Myron burst into the room. "Wait, stop!", the former called out.

But it was too late. Mila had the coronet placed on her head, causing her to adopt a blank face. "I live to serve Gingaku and crush their enemies.", she said in a monotone.

"You're too late, Rangers.", Kota said. "Mila is now under the path of the righteous, like I have been for years."

"You've joined up with Gingaku willingly.", Myron said with contempt. "How could you? Mila trusted you as a friend."

"If she really thought I was a true friend, she wouldn't have abandoned the students of the school to the non-existent mercy of Coiloga.", Kota said with a sneer. "I made a choice to sell out their location so I could join the winning side. After all, I can be my true self now that I'm with the organisation." He stepped forward, grabbing at his face and pulling it off, along with his clothes and skin, turning his body into something else.

"Hey, you're that creature we saw earlier.", Myron realised. "That explains a few things about your actions, Kota."

"Pfft, I've no reason to be using that name anymore.", Kota said, his voice now deeper. "I am now the supreme warrior, I am Diskus."

"And what about you?", Yuri turned to the Grand Abbottess. "What's your part in all this?"

"Oh, I've never met you before.", the Abbottess said as she laughed. "But you've seen my face." She pulled off her own skin and clothes to reveal a red-skinned woman, with a thick breathing mask over most of her face, with her yellow eyes instead covered by a plastic visor, a metal hat with a satellite dish on the side, arms and legs that were mechanical, with forearms and part of one leg being mechanical and a set of metal shoulder pads to complete the look. "I am Cha-ChaMari. The original one, not one of those clones you fought before."

"So you're the real one.", Yuri said. "What's your position within Gingaku that they decided you should be cloned?"

"I am the daughter of Gingaku himself.", Cha-ChaMari declared. "I wasn't aware there were clones of me until I got pulled to the planet Tempus by its effect, where I saw your yellow friend battling one of them. And then he damaged my body before I was sent back. After that, I demanded that Dr. Cerebron end the cloning project and rebuild me in a more powerful body. A more powerful body that I shall use to destroy you." She turned to Mila. "Servant, execute the orange one."

"Yes, mistress.", Mila said, summoning up her Cosmo Blade and swinging it at Myron, who ducked and began trying to defend himself as they left the room.

"And I'll make sure the Detainers are dealing with the other Rangers.", Diskus said as he walked out.

"That just leaves you and me, red boy.", Cha-ChaMari said as she brandished her weapon. She pressed a button on a nearby machine, causing the background to change to that of a cityscape. "Do yourself a favour and take me to your ship."

"What's wrong with the ship you used to get here?", Yuri asked as he pulled out his Cosmo Sphere.

"Oh, nothing.", Cha-ChaMari answered him. "I just want to settle the score with your yellow friend. Plus I'm sure Daddy would be happy if I gave him a present in the form of the Rangers' captured ship."

"Well, you're not going to get your hands on it.", Yuri said as he inserted his Sphere into his Morpher. "Cosmic Energy, Unleash!" He morphed into the Red Ranger. "Let's dance, Princess." He ran towards her, pulling out and inserting another Cosmo Sphere. "Double-25 Cosmo Sphere, activate!" He split into two copies of himself, after a few failed hits. The copy tried to land a hit, but was blocked as well. "How'd you know…?"

"'That's you'd pull that manoeuvre off?'.", Cha-ChaMari finished. "I have battle data from all of your battles in my brain, thanks to these implants. I can predict any move you make."

"Ok then.", Yuri said, demorphing and dispersing his double. "Perhaps we can form an agreement."

Outside, Myron was still fighting off Mila. "You have to fight the control, Mila.", he said, defending with his Cosmonata. "This isn't you."

"I have my orders.", Mila said, as the coronet continued to glow. "I must destroy you."

The two crossed weapons, with Myron taking the opportunity to break the coronet with his stinger tail. "If this doesn't free you, I don't know what will."

Mila regained consciousness. "What? Where am I?", she asked.

"You're still on Niloas.", Myron informed her. "I was right about your friend. He was part of a trap to lure us in and brainwash you."

Mila was shocked to hear this. "Kota did this to me?"

Myron nodded. "That creature you saw in the woods? That was him."

Before the conversation could continue further, both received a message on their communicators. It was from Scales. "We're under attack. Tricerodo has infiltrated the ship and revived Coiloga. We need help." Then the message cut off.

"You go.", Mila said to Myron. I have business to settle with my old friend." Myron nodded and summoned his Zord, flying up into the atmosphere.

Across the courtyard, the other Rangers had dealt with most of the Detainers. "There's only a few of these guys left.", Proton called out. "Then we can move on to Kota and that woman."

"How about one of us comes to you?" Diskus appeared, throwing disk like weapons at the Rangers knocking them down. "After all I've heard, you're all disappointing. I'm not going to relish destroying you."

"Kota!" Diskus turned around to see an angry Mila approaching. "Is it true? Did you really betray me to Gingaku?"

"I see you escaped from my mind control.", Diskus said as he returned to his appearance as Kota. "Then again, I shouldn't have expected less from you."

"Answer me.", Mila said simply. "Why did you betray me? Betray our people?"

"Your people.", Kota stated. "I've always been another species to you. My parents died in a crash on your planet, while I survived. I was hunted down and treated like a monster for several weeks, while the rest of our ship's crew were slaughtered. I learned to disguise myself as a native, integrating myself into your culture and being taken in by Verde to ensure a stable life. I latched onto you as a friend due to being a fellow outcast, which is why I was saddened that you chose to run away when Gingaku attacked. I joined with Gingaku both to live as myself once more and to find you and bring you back to me. And this time, I'd make sure you wouldn't leave me again."

"Why you.", Mila growled. She went over to the other Rangers and pulled out her Cosmo Sphere. "I think you guys know what time it is."

"Of course we do.", Winda said. "It's Morphing Time, correct?"

"Correct.", Mila said. Everyone pulled out their Spheres and inserted them into their Morphers. "Cosmic Energy, Unleash!"

"Rise! Change!"

In a few seconds, the 6 Rangers were all morphed.

"Claw of the Wolf, Blue Ranger!"

"Glimmer of the Serpent, Silver Ranger!"

"Stealth of the Chameleon, Green Ranger!"

"Agility of the Eagle, Pink Ranger!"

"Roar of the Dragon!p, Dragon Ranger!"

"The Burning Challenger, Fire Knight!"

"Bringing the universe together, Power Rangers Cosmic Defenders!"

Diskus once more assumed his true form. "Let's show these goons what for.", Drago said, pointing at the enemy. "Attack!"

The Rangers engaged in battle with the Detainers, with Drago managing to thoroughly punch one into submission, before knocking it out with his Staff. "Nice one.", Cobras said.

"I can handle these guys.", Proton insisted. "You deal with Kota, or whatever he calls himself."

"Good advice.", Drago said, as he pulled out three Cosmo Spheres, which he threw at Jiro, Cobras and the girls. "Use these to fight.", he called.

"Crane-81, activate!", Winda announced.

"Hydro Serpent-65, activate!", Cobras followed.

"Feline-85, activate!", Mila added.

Finally Jiro received his. "Lupus-52, activate!" The 4 Rangers all fired their blasts, before charging at Diskus, while Proton made good on his promise to fight off the Detainers.

Diskus engaged in battle with the Rangers, who had received various kungxfu techniques from their Cosmo Spheres. Jiro used the Dog technique to move backwards, before everyone else attacked. "Crane power!", Winda called out, hitting Diskus with her hand, using it like a beak.

"Snake power!", Cobras called out, using his hands like a pair of fangs.

"Cat power!", Mila scratched at her old friend with her bare hands.

Jiro was about to attack, when he had a realisation. "This is just my usual style.", he said to the Commander.

"Try this then.", Drago said, throwing the Pup-66 Cosmo Sphere at him.

Jiro grabbed it and tried it out. "Pup-66, activate!" However, instead of fighting, he began approaching Diskus like an affectionate puppy.

Diskus was confused, but took it in his stride. "Who's a good little confused dog? You is. Yes, you is." He then kicked the Ranger aside, before jumping over Cobras' back and delivering a powerful kick to the three remaining Rangers. "Don't think I forgot my Verde training.", he said.

"I'd hope not.", Mila said. "Because I've got something I intend to beat you with.", she pulled out the Pegasus-33 Sphere, inserting it into her Morpher. "Plus Up!" She summoned Pegasus onto herself. "Ready for this, old man?", she asked.

"You know it.", came the response. "Let's dance, big boy." He and Mila proceeded to deliver a series of jumping manoeuvres that allowed the to both avoid Diskus' hits and deliver several blows to the enemy, which eventually knocked him down.

"Time to end this.", Mila said, inserting the Pegasus Sphere onto her Cosmo Blade. "Pegasus Energy Strike!" She launched a slash, which knocked Diskus back again.

"I won't let this be my end.", Diskus said. He activated his own growth implant, increasing to giant size. "How do you like me now?"

"We don't.", Drago said as he stepped forward. "Let's do this." He summoned the Dragon Zord, which combined with Silver as the right arm and Blue as the left. "Dragon Star Megazord, ready!"

"We'll take you down here and now.", Drago said to Diskus, before engaging him in battle. However, the enemy was able to block or avoid most of their hits, before delivering a kick to their back and striking them down the front.

"Take this.", Diskus announced as he rolled over the robot's back once more and delivered a series of slashes with one of his disks.

"We need to switch out.", Drago said. "Ladies, if you'd please."

"Ok." Winda and Mila summoned their Zords, which took over as the right and left arms respectively.

In the next fight, Mila knocked Diskus' weapons out of his hands with her Chameleon Tonge Attack. Then Winda delivered a slash to the enemy with her Wing Blade. "Proton, can I borrow your Voyager?", Drago asked.

"Okay, but I want it back.", Proton replied. He summoned the Fire Voyager, which had its thruster component from the shuttle and take the Zord's' place as the arms, with Pink and Silver on the right arm and Green and Blue on the left.

"Dragon Voyager Megazord, ready!", the 5 Rangers declared.

"This isn't good.", Diskus said, as the Megazord launched itself at him, delivering a series of rapid kicks, that blew up in his face.

"Let's finish this.", Mila said.

"Alright,", Drago said, opening and closing his Drago Staff. "Dragonic Ignition!" The Megazord flew into the air, before co,img back down at incredible speed and kicking Diskus.

"I really wanted us to be together.", Diskus called out as he exploded.

"Goodbye, Kota.", Mila said, while the rest of the pilots went deadly silent.

The Shooting Star Ship.

Tarrant, Slash and Barry were still struggling with Coiloga and Tricerodo. "Didn't anyone get the message Scales sent out?", Barry asked.

"Even if someone did receive your message, it wouldn't help you.", Tricerodo gloated. "No-one could possibly help you against two of Gingaku's closest allies."

"Don't be too sure.", Myron declared, teleporting in and slashing at the two enemies, knocking hem down.. "Sorry, I'm late.", he said to the crew.

"Actually, you're right on time.", Heath replied. "Now we just need to get these two off the ship."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Cha-ChaMari teleported in with Yuri. "You're going to give me - and them - control of the ship so we can get back to Planet Black."

"You must be the original Cha-ChaMari, I've heard about you.", Heath said to her. "I worked with two of your clones, killed one of them myself. You do realise that you can't just go to Planet Black, not with the barrier keeping everything out."

"I have my methods.", Cha-ChaMari assured him. "Now then, get this ship ready to transport us."

"Ok, you win.", Yuri said. He went over to one terminal. "First, we flip down this lever, input some co-ordinates into here and from there, it's just a matter of hitting the launch button on the main terminal." He then moved to walk off. "I think you can take things from here, Princess." Barry realised something about what the terminal did, but said nothing, for fear of giving the plot away.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere.", Cha-ChaMari insisted, firing at the door with her arm cannon. "I'm taking all of you back home with me as a present to Daddy. Perhaps then he'll notice me."

"Ok then, we'll come with you.", Yuri said, sitting at the control terminal. He pressed the launch button. "Off you go."

"You mean, off WE go?", Cha-ChaMari asked, as she, Tricerodo and Coiloga were surrounded with a blue light. "No, what's happen-?", she got out before vanishing.

Now that the three Gingaku higher-ups were gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Yuri rigged it up so that the ship's launch system would activate the long-range teleport.", Myron summarised. "And since only Coiloga would've known the truth, and his mind was dead, Cha-ChaMari didn't catch on to the ruse until it was too late."

"That's all well and good.", Tarrant said. "But why didn't he tell us about his plan? We could've helped."

"We did.", Slash answered him. "By not knowing the details outright, he was able to ensure our reactions were genuine enough to fool her. Plus, if you had known, you'd just have blurted it out for the world to hear."

"Well, we'd better get the ship back to normal functions.", Scales suggested. "Otherwise the others will be stuck on that planet forever."

Planet Niloas.

Sometime later, the Shooting Star ship touched down on the planet, with Yuri and Myron running over to the temple. There, they found a despondent Mila sitting down. "Did you do it?", Myron asked.

"We did it.", was Mila's response. "But I'm not sure the cost was worth it."

"He tried to turn you against us.", Yuri pointed out. "He was one of them."

"But he was still my friend.", Mila replied, barely holding back tears. "You can't know what it's like to see someone you trusted turn against you."

Myron sighed. "You're forgetting that my own brother made me watch as he abandoned his own morals to conquer Earth. And Yuri here recently found out that his best friend was trying to kill him for months."

"Plus Drago had a friendship with Squideyasu, that didn't end well.", Yuri added. "If anything, this whole thing's teaching us we should be careful about who we trust. Sometimes the people we'd trust with our lives will end up taking them."

Mila perked up at this. "Yeah, you're probably right. We should remember the people we've befriended as we knew them, not as what they become without us."

The conversation was interrupted by a call from Drago. "Hey, we've found the Cassiopeia Sphere. We've got all 4 needed to break the barrier."

"Best news I've heard all day.", Yuri said, walking over to him, but not before turning back to the other two. "If we really want to remember our friends as they were, then we have to take down the one who turned them against us in the first place."

"Gingaku.", Mila said for him.

"Well, what're we waiting for?", Myron asked. "There's nothing to it, but to do it." The three then set off walking towards Drago, the setting sun in front of them.