Scrozzle appeared in a new dimension. He'd had to flee when the Rangers came crashing into the base. He wasn't a fighter, that was never his strong suit. He could, if he was called on to do it, but he had been created long ago mainly as a creator of new weapons systems for the Machine Empire. He wasn't about to take any chances of having Evox lose one of his most valuable resources to a lucky shot.

The Crystal Dimension was a strange place. Much like his previous home, it existed as a dimension largely devoid of life. Unlike his previous dimension though, it wasn't simply a desert. As its name implied, the landscape was dominated by large crystals which burst through the ground like thorn bushes. While there were precious few resources that supported life forms, such as water or food sources, the mineral formation here was astronomical. Stones and metals that would take hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions of years to form elsewhere grew in only a handful of years in immense quantities. If he was inclined to believe in such nonsense, it was a miraculous find, discovered more years ago than even Scrozzle's memory banks really knew by the Machine Empire, and between its inhospitable atmosphere which did not support complex lifeforms and its tremendous wealth of metals, ores and minerals, it was a treasure trove that had given the Machine Empire virtually limitless materials for their creations for generations.

They did not use it as a base of operations. The land masses were prone to tectonic shifts that made building anything other than temporary structures a pointless endeavour. Still, as one of the few places he could think of no one would follow him, it would have to do until he figured out if anyone other than him had survived the Rangers' attack.

"It's not much, but it'll do for now." He muttered as he activated a teleporter, summoning some basics for him to set up a makeshift lab. "There's not much point in looking for Master Evox or anyone else until I'm ready to get back to creating my masterpieces."

He started working away to set up his new temporary base. He knew that sooner or later he'd need to find somewhere more suitable to set up long term, but for now it would provide him plenty of materials, a home no one else knew the location of, and most importantly, some time when no one would be able to pursue him.

He was just starting to set up when he saw the communicator in his arm blinking. He looked at it, staring almost in disbelief. He had already lost one master. He'd thought nothing of the fact that King Mondo hadn't contacted him in decades, and while he'd since found out he had been destroyed long ago, he certainly wasn't expecting anyone to reach out to him so soon. At best, he expected Evox to be busy attacking the Earth, and at worst…well…

"This is Scrozzle." He offered tentatively. He could only think of a couple of beings that might try to contact him, that would even think to look for him. He was trying to size up if the fact he had been called so early was a good thing or a bad thing.

"SCROZZLE!" He heard an all-too-familiar hiss crackling through. He shook so violently he was worried some of his circuits might come loose.

"M…M…Master Evox! This is a wonderful surprise!" Scrozzle stammered out. "I didn't expect to hear from you for some time, I believed you'd be having far too much fun destroying…"

"You snivelling coward, the digitization FAILED!" Evox yelled at him. Scrozzle had wondered if that might happen. Shortly after he had fled the Cyber Dimension, he'd picked up energy signatures that indicated a massive explosion, one that would all but completely obliterate anything still in the dimension, even Evox's new body. "Not that I'd expect you to know that, running from the enemy…"

"Master Evox, please, I knew your mighty new form would be more than capable of dealing with the Rangers. I simply wanted to remove myself from your path." He said, hurriedly trying to cover his tracks. "Yes…I didn't want to accidentally get in the crossfire…"

"We can discuss your cowardice later, but for now I am in need of your intellect!" Evox told him. "Since I could not digitize, I could not flee the Cyber Dimension in time. I needed to find another way to escape the explosion."

"Oh…right." Scrozzle said, almost wondering if Evox getting out was the best thing for him. Still, if he could now save Evox from whatever predicament he'd found himself in, perhaps he could gain his favour, or at very least, a stay of execution. "Well, what seems to be the problem?"

Evox turned on the visual link, allowing Scrozzle to see him in his current location. Scrozzle just stared.

"Um…yes…I see." Scrozzle mused. "Yes, that could be a problem!"

"I am weakened in this state, but not enough that I cannot find you if you don't get me out of this!" Evox warned him.

"Yes, of course Master Evox." Scrozzle replied. "I'll…I'll get working on it right away."

"You better!" Evox warned him, before signing off.

Back in Coral Harbour, things were starting to get back to normal, and while no one wanted to let their guard down, the fact that there was no sign of Evox or any of his followers it really was starting to feel like the threat he posed was finally over.

Commander Shaw went down into the cell blocks, being saluted by the security guard on duty, before going to the only cell that was currently occupied. She tapped her ID to the lock, at which it opened, finding Meghan lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Blaze, Roxy and Meghan had all been freed from Evox's influence. With the destruction of their avatars, they had now come out of their comas and were finally free to return to their lives. They were being kept on the base in the meantime, medical keeping them under observation just to make sure that there were no lasting problems as a result of their lengthy comas, but other than that, soon they would be able to return to their own lives.

Meghan didn't even look at Commander Shaw as she walked in. She just coughed, but Meghan still didn't respond. She just looked over to the Commander and then back to the ceiling.

"Making sure I'm still here?" She asked. "They won't even let me have cutlery, you don't need to worry, there's no way I can escape."

"Actually, I just wanted to see if you were feeling alright." Commander Shaw told her. "I've heard you haven't been very responsive during your check-ups."

"The doctors have all the data they need." Meghan replied. "I'm alive and healthy for someone of my age."

"That isn't what I meant." Commander Shaw said. Meghan just sat up.

"What? You want to know if I'm happy?" Meghan asked. "You don't care. As soon as they green-light my physical I'm going to some black site for the rest of my life."

"That…might not be entirely accurate." Commander Shaw responded. Meghan adjusted her position on the bed. "Meghan, what you did was bad, but I…"

She tailed off and started to pace. The Commander had some trying issues of her own, things that were pulling her in all directions. She still had the responsibility of the base, and the protection of the city, but there was another issue. Ravi still wasn't talking to her. He'd asked for his discharge from the service over what he saw as his mother's betrayal. There were times that she found it hard to disagree with his assessment of that. While General Burke had denied his request, something that was not entirely without precedent as he still had some time left on his enlistment.

When he became a Ranger, due to the value of his training, and the process required to turn him into a Ranger, as was common in the armed forces, he'd signed up for a term of service. They couldn't afford to have people simply quit and take such valuable expertise with them the same way someone might simply quit a civilian job. He was required to fulfil at very least his minimum three years' service. While it meant he would have to stay at Grid Battleforce, it had done nothing to mend the rift between them.

"When you did what you did, I was angry. Furious even, and in that I may have over-reacted." Commander Shaw told her. "What you did cannot go unpunished, but I believe that the punishment should fit the crime, and while I deplore your behaviour towards Zoey, I do not believe you sought to fundamentally endanger Grid Battleforce."

"I don't understand." Meghan said, looking blankly at her.

"You will be transferred to another facility to serve out a more reasonable sentence." Commander Shaw told her. "You will be held there under observation and depending upon your behaviour you may even earn parole in time. You have an exceptional mind, Meghan, one that would be a terrible thing to waste."

"So, instead of going to prison for the rest of my life, I'm going to another prison for slightly less time?" She asked.

"Make of it what you will." Commander Shaw told her with a sigh. "But I want you to know, Zoey begged us to consider your case."

"Zoey did?" Meghan asked. "Why would she do that?" Commander Shaw just put a hand on Meghan's shoulder. She knew that Meghan had trouble understanding the motives and desires of others. Her psychological condition meant that empathy was extremely difficult, almost impossible for her to comprehend.

"Although you hurt her, Zoey doesn't want to see you condemned." Commander Shaw responded. "I think you will be far happier if you can work in another facility until such time as you can earn your release than simply rotting away in a cell."

There was a long moment of silence. Commander Shaw could see that Meghan understood the new arrangement was better than what she was facing before. Instead of just going to a cell for the remainder of her life, she was going to be sent to another facility, one where she could still work and create, and would possibly one day be released. However, after a long moment, Commander Shaw just nodded, before heading for the door.

"Commander Shaw." Meghan called after her. She turned to look at her. "Tell Zoey…she didn't have to do that."

"Perhaps you can tell her yourself some day." Commander Shaw suggested. "You'll be transferred in the morning. I suggest you get some rest."

With that, she left the cell, locking the door behind her.

Elsewhere on the base, Joanne was in her room, having flopped onto the couch the moment her shift had ended. Being the Chief Engineer was normally a pretty good gig all things considered. Grid Battleforce had all the staff and resources a privately funded organisation could hope for. However, to say there was a lot of work to repair the Zords was an understatement. It wasn't so much that the Rangers brought back the Zords damaged, as a case of how much of them they had brought back at all! She just groaned as she heard a knock on the door.

"Go away!" She mumbled. The visitor just kept knocking, this time louder, so loud it actually disturbed her dog, Bruno. He just lifted his head lazily off the floor, looked at the door, before flopping back down. She just groaned.

"Just as well you're not a guard dog." She grumbled as the door knocked again. She got up, heading towards the door. "Alright, alright, I'll be there in a minute!"

She got to the door, wiping a hand wearily over her face, before opening the door.

"What?" She snapped, before properly looking to see who it was. She recoiled a little as she realised it was Devon. He was standing, holding a couple of video games.

"Sorry, I…I didn't wake you, did I?" Devon asked her.

"No, I just…" She said, her words tailing off a little. "Just give me a second, I'll get Bruno into the bathroom…"

"No, that's not…" Devon said as he put a hand on hers to stop her leaving. "It's actually him I kind of want to talk about."

"I figured as much." She said, rolling her eyes. "Well, can you just make this quick? I worked a double today and I've got another tomorrow…"

"Joanne." He interrupted her, before shuffling a little. "Um…OK, this isn't going well…mind if I start over?"

She just stared at him.

"Look, I know the last time I was here, I didn't…well…let's just say I didn't exactly make myself look like much of a hero." Devon began.

"Devon, I know…"

"No, please, let me finish." Devon stated. "Look, this thing, this dog thing I have, it's a pretty recent thing for me. Not just dogs, but just in general. Honestly, I've never felt anything like the kind of terror I get when I stare at them."

He could see her looking at her as he tried to explain.

"I know none of this is your fault or even Bruno's. It's just…one of those things." Devon told her.

"Yeah, it is." She sighed.

"But, the thing is, I know I flipped out, and I let that fear spill out and I said and did some things that I really shouldn't have." Devon explained. "But after what we've just been through, after not knowing if I'd come back at all, I thought a lot about it and the thing is, I really felt badly about how things went down."

"What are you trying to say?" She asked him. He just took a deep breath.

"What I'm trying to say is, I think you're incredible." He told her honestly. "And I want you in my life, in any capacity you'll have me."

"Devon…"

"But…I also know that Bruno's part of your life too. He's been part of your life a lot longer than I have." Devon continued. "And there's no way I can or should ask you to choose between us, which is why I'm not going to."

"I don't understand." She said, wiping her eyes tiredly.

"I mean, I'm not saying I'm going to be a hundred percent cool with Bruno." Devon said to her. "But, because he means so much to you, and you mean so much to me…I'd like to try."

"You would?" She asked him. "Devon, that's…it's a phobia!"

"And people do get treated for them and they can learn to live with them." Devon said, reaching out to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "And for you, as terrified as I am, I really want to try."

Joanne just smiled. She pulled the door closed behind her, stepping up onto her tip toes, and pulled Devon in, kissing him softly. Devon parted from her, smiling.

"So, you want to give this a shot?" He asked her.

"Any guy that knows to bring Mutant Massacre V and not carnations is not something I can afford to turn away every day." She reasoned. "So, you want me to put Bruno in the bathroom?"

"Let's…see how I do with him in the same room." Devon said with a noticeable hesitation. "But don't expect me to be hugging him any time soon."

With that, she led him into her dorm.

In another part of the base, Zoey came back to her room, carrying a gym bag, finding Ravi and Roxy in the main room of their shared dorm. She smiled as she saw Roxy, dumping the bag and rushing over to hug her, squishing her tightly.

"Whoa, whao, easy there roomie! I just got our of the hospital!" Roxy joked. "I don't want to go back just yet."

"You're seriously back? They released you?" Zoey asked her. Roxy just nodded.

"You know me, I never was one for staring at the same four walls for too long." Roxy assured her.

"Man, it is so great to see you back on your feet!" Zoey gushed, delighted to see her best friend back in the dorm. "I left the room exactly how you left it."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Roxy commented. "I appreciate the homey feel, but I wouldn't have minded you tidying up after me just a little bit."

"I'm sure you wouldn't!" Zoey chuckled. She looked at Roxy, staring at her for a long moment. She then reached down to her wrist, unclipping her communicator.

She held it up, looking at it, running her fingers across it, before looking up into Roxy's face. She could see her friend was a little unsure about what she was doing. She then reached out, offering it to Roxy.

"Um…what…what's going on?" Roxy asked. "What are you doing?"

"I was never meant to be a Ranger." Zoey reminded her. "I've loved being a Ranger, and I've done the best I could but I said on the day I got this, that I'd fill in until you came back."

She then moved it a little closer to Roxy, offering it again.

"You earned the morpher fair and square." Zoey told her. "It's yours now."

Roxy took Zoey's hand in hers, placing the other on top. She sniffed as a tear came to her eye.

"You have no idea how much it means to me that you'd be willing to give this up." Roxy told her, before pushing it gently back towards her. "But, you earned this."

"No, you passed the training, you were chosen…"

"And if it had been a fair contest, if you hadn't had to work three times as hard as anyone else on the base just to get your foot in the door, maybe you'd have beaten me." Roxy assured her. "Look, you've been an amazing Ranger. You've proved yourself so many times, I'm not going to take this from you."

"Roxy, I…"

"No buts!" Roxy warned her. "I got into this for all the wrong reasons, I know that now."

"Roxy…"

"Listen, you're a great Ranger, and you've got the heart to prove it." Roxy told her. "I'm not going to take that away from Grid Battleforce."

She took the communicator from Zoey and strapped it back onto her wrist.

"This might have been mine for a couple of days." Roxy told her. "But it's yours now, way more than it was ever mine."

She then leaned in, kissing Zoey's cheek and hugging her warmly.

"You really don't mind?" Zoey asked.

"Well, no not really." Roxy told her. "In fact, you inspired me to save the world in my own way. Ravi and I talked about it a lot, and I made a decision. Ravi's discharge request was denied…but mine wasn't."

"What?" Zoey asked. "No, Roxy…"

"Zoey, I got into all of this for all the wrong reasons." She interrupted her, putting her arm around Ravi. "And while I can't feel too badly about the results, we figured that this is for the best. I'm going to be working for Aunt Regina's business. There's an opening for an Environmental Spokesperson…well, more like Aunt Regina just MADE an opening and…I figured…"

"You'll be great." Zoey interrupted her with a smile. "I'm really going to miss you, Roxy."

"You're not going to get a chance to. I'm not going to just abandon my bestie! You'll still see me all the time!" Roxy promised her, bringing her in and hugging her tightly. As they held each other, Zoey couldn't stop some tears welling up in her eyes. She had always thought of herself as a substitute for Roxy, but now, now the role was hers, and she was more determined than ever to make sure she would earn it, every single day.