Chapter 14: Prepare to Fail
"Here are your guests," Eidolon announced, maintaining her bored tone as she led two figures into the command room. Odius stood.
"Welcome to the Warrior Dome," she greeted them as they bowed to her respectfully. "I'm glad you could join us, General Tynamon," Odius said to the elder of the two, who carried a Khakkhara. "I hope your famous fighter Brax is ready for action," she turned to the powerful one beside him, who carried a sword on his back.
"Of course, Madame," Tynamon nodded, his voice creaky and breaking. "Our plan will crush the Rangers!" he declared.
"That's what they all say," he growled at Eidolon's unimpressed tone, leaning against the wall. "And look what happened to them all," she shrugged, arms folded.
"Clearly you have never seen Brax in action," Tynamon sniffed haughtily at her.
"Clearly," Eidolon drawled, eyeing up the warrior as he put his hands on his hips, glowering at her.
"Ah, Brax!" the doors slid open and Badonna walked in. She threw her arms around him. "It's good to finally meet you in person!" she declared as he shoved her off. "Did you get the fan letters I sent?" undeterred, Badonna leaned in close, giggling as she ran her fingers down his face.
"Yeah, all two hundred of 'em," Brax muttered, unimpressed.
"Look! I spruced up our Basherbots, just for you," Badonna hooked her arm around his and pulled him over to the Basherbots that had accompanied her. They wore white outfits, clearly supposed to be inspired by Brax's own outfit.
"Oh good gods," Eidolon muttered.
"Do you like them?" Badonna pressed, not letting go of his arm.
"Those outfits?" Brax groaned.
"Badonna," Odius finally stepped in. "Our guests will be here for a while. Take care of them," with that, the woman in charge stalked off.
"With pleasure, Madame," Badonna bowed, still holding onto Brax as he scowled at the idea. "How about we get to know each other a little better?" as soon as Odius was gone, Badonna turned to Brax.
"Keep your paws off my fighter, you minx!" Tynamon finally shoved her away, irritated with her behaviour.
"Let's have a talk, Tynamon," Badonna then pulled him aside as Brax gave a sigh of relief. Eidolon shook her head, before meeting Brax's glowing eyes.
"Can I help you?" she asked coldly, and he gave a quiet laugh.
"I hear you're from the same planet as that boy with the split personality," she didn't react to his gruff words. "He had quite the reputation under Lord Arcanon's command. I wonder if you could achieve the same," the obvious challenge made Eidolon smirk.
"Why don't we find out?" she responded, and he looked at her hands as they lit up with energy. He laughed quietly and made to move, only for Badonna to grab his hand suddenly.
"Now, Braxxy! Let's introduce you to the audience!" she declared.
"Whoa!" before he could stop her, she dragged him out. Tynamon growled low as he watched them leave.
"Letting her blackmail you now will only lead to problems later," he glared at Eidolon as she spoke, and she smirked before disappearing out as well.
"Okay, quiet down everybody," Mrs. Finch called to the class as she walked in with a small stack of papers. "I have the results of Part One of your math test," she announced as everyone took their seat.
"Please a passing grade," Daisy whispered to herself as their teacher handed out their results.
"Oh, a B+?" Calvin gasped, stunned at his results.
"An A!" Hayley smiled brightly.
"B...I don't have to die," Daisy leaned back in her seat, relieved.
"An A? Amazing," Teddie grinned happily.
"See? Studying hard, pays off," Mrs. Finch smiled as Brody and Preston showed each other their scores. "Especially for...Sarah! Who got the only A+ in the class!" she announced, making Sarah look up from her incessant note-taking.
"Really? That's so cool!" she beamed with pride as she took her test from the smiling teacher and flipped through it. "I got every single question right! I can't believe I studied so hard for the test, it was such a cinch!" Sarah laughed, looking down and missing the smile falling from the teacher's face.
"Well, Part Two of the test is tomorrow. And I highly recommend that everyone comes prepared," Mrs. Finch told them. While she addressed the entire class, her eyes were on the Pink Ranger, who was bouncing in her seat and barely listening.
"Guess I can still get killed," Daisy sank down in her seat, sighing.
The Rangers walked through the park after school, enjoying the nice weather while they prepared to study for another test.
"Okay, Hayley, Daisy, how do you find the area of a right triangle?" Preston asked, going through the textbook for questions to test the others.
"You multiply the base by the height," Daisy answered.
"And then divide by two?" Hayley continued.
"Nailed it! Nice job!" Preston high-fived the two, who grinned widely.
"Sounds tough, all these tests," Levi grinned, earning multiple glares. Sarah seemed oblivious, on her phone and not paying attention to them.
"I will hurt you," Teddie warned, glaring at her own textbook.
"Oh come on, you scored just below Hayley," Aaron pointed out. "I think it's safe to say you're okay at math," he said as Teddie shrugged.
"Music and maths go hand in hand. My English grade is real bad though," she looked up to smile guiltily.
"I'm not surprised. Half the time it doesn't sound like you're speaking the language," Levi teased, and she hit him with her textbook.
"Oh my gosh!" they glanced around at the gasp. "Levi Weston! Can I have your autograph? Please?" a girl ran over, smiling widely at Levi.
"Here we go again," Teddie rolled her eyes.
"Uh, sure you can, yeah," Levi laughed, taking her notebook and pen to sign. "I'll just be a second," he told the others who stopped to wait for him.
"Oh, and when you're done, will you sign for my friends too?" the girl asked hopefully, turning. Levi looked up, and his eyes widened when a group of people ran over, all holding things for Levi to sign.
"What the heck, why not?" he smiled as the others giggled at the sudden group. "Sorry guys, I better catch up," he warned the others.
"Yeah, see you in like, a million years," Aaron laughed. They left Levi to it, walking along and continuing to answer Preston's questions.
"Okay, your turn for a question, Sarah," Preston told the Pink Ranger as Brody and Teddie sighed with relief, having gotten the question right. However, Sarah didn't respond, still on her phone.
"Uh, hello?" Brody called.
"Hey!" he finally earned her attention by covering her screen with his hand.
"Earth to Sarah?" Brody called.
"Oh, sorry guys," Sarah apologised. "I'm looking at show times. I'm pretty tempted to go see a movie tonight. I'm thinking Train on the Run, Part 6," she considered. "Anyone in?" she asked.
"You kidding?" Daisy asked. Sarah tilted her head a little, not understanding.
"Uh, the math test is tomorrow," Calvin pointed out. "Aren't you gonna study?" he asked.
"Eh, the first part was so easy, I don't think I even need to study for the second part," Sarah shrugged, going back to her phone. "Plus, I really wanna know how they stop that runaway train!" she smiled eagerly.
"But Sarah-" Hayley stopped abruptly when a familiar buzzing sound earned their attention.
"Guys, a Buzz-Cam!" Preston spotted the camera as it landed nearby, focusing on them.
"Great," Teddie grumbled as they dropped their bags and got ready for a fight. "Levi, get over here. We've got trouble," she contacted the Gold Ranger. There was a flash of light, and Badonna appeared with Tynamon and the Basherbots.
"Hello Rangers!" she greeted.
"Ready to face the most fearsome fighter of your lives?" Tynamon challenged.
"Who? You?" Brody couldn't help but laugh.
"He looks like one of my grandma's lawn ornaments," Sarah commented, tilting her head as Calvin giggled.
"Not me!" Tynamon spat, irritated by their laughter. "Introducing, the one and only, Brax!" there was another flash of light, and Brax appeared in front of him, wielding his sword.
"Prepare for total annihilation!" he declared.
"Okay he looks tough," Teddie muttered as they quickly grabbed their Morphers.
"NINJA SPIN!" they Morphed, ready to fight.
"Here I come!" Brax ran at them, but stopped as Brody leapt into the air.
"Here I come too!" he slashed down with his sword. Brax raised his block it, but his strength gave way immediately and he cried out as Brody's sword cut down his front.
"No! That hurt!" he screeched, taking them by surprise as he fell over.
"What?" Brody frowned.
"Seriously?" Hayley asked as Brax lay on the ground, whimpering.
"Um...is that all you got?" Brody poked him with his sword. Brax shrieked and backed up.
"He's too strong!" he screamed as Badonna ran to his side. "Basherbots! Protect me!" he pleaded.
"Don't worry, my handsome darling!" Badonna fussed over him as the Basherbots ran in.
"At least these guys put up a fight!" Daisy said as they all started fighting the Basherbots. She kicked them aside, and jumped to avoid another.
"No kidding!" Aaron grunted, pushing back against one as it fought against him.
"Let's get out of here!" Brax finally got back to his feet, running towards Tynamon. "Take me back to the ship! Ahh!" he screeched.
"Basherbots! Retreat!" Tynamon ordered.
"Huh? They're leaving?" Brody asked, and cried out when the Basherbot caught him across the chest. He fell to the ground as the Basherbots fled as well.
"Wow, we really scared them off," Preston considered.
"Yeah, I guess," Hayley shrugged.
"Yeah…" Teddie murmured, frowning.
"You okay Brody?" Daisy asked, helping him to his feet.
"I'm just...surprised," he admitted.
"Hey team! Where's the trouble!" Levi called as he arrived. They demorphed, turning to him as he caught his breath. "What did I miss?" he asked, looking around and seeing nothing.
"Well, as a matter of fact, you didn't miss anything," Sarah laughed.
"That was the easiest fight...ever," Brody shrugged, making Levi frown.
"Yeah…" Daisy agreed, confused.
"You defeated him in one hit?" Redbot was surprised by Brody's explanation. "That does not compute!" he struggled to try and understand. "No Galaxy Warrior's monster has ever been defeated that fast," he told them.
"It doesn't make sense," Levi shook his head.
"Well, maybe they've just run out of good fighters?" Calvin suggested.
"What a great day, huh?" Sarah smiled widely. "The easiest fight, the easiest test," she laughed.
"Oh shoot! Guys, we still need to study for tomorrow's math test," Preston remembered.
"Yeah, we wanna be ready," Hayley agreed.
"Whoa! You saw how easy the first test was," Sarah laughed at how seriously they were taking their studying. "The second part is gonna be a breeze," she dismissed it, already taking her phone out. "I'm going to the movies. Who's coming?" she asked with a bright smile.
"No way. You might be a genius, but I want to study," Teddie shook her head.
"Same. I also wanna get some training in," Aaron turned to Tori, who had been listening to them explain the strange fight they'd been in. She nodded, happy at his commitment.
"I'm down for some training," Levi agreed.
"After that fight?" Sarah laughed, and Levi nodded, serious.
"Might as well break a sweat once today," he told her.
"Guess you're on your own," Brody told Sarah, who didn't seem to mind much. "We'll see you later," they started to head out.
"Bye! Have fun studying. Not that you'll need to," Sarah called after him.
"Geez," Aaron muttered.
The crowd was booing loudly, outraged by what they'd seen.
"The mighty Brax, is a legend in over twelve solar systems!" Cosmo shouted, sounding outraged as two Basherbots wheeled Brax out on a table. "But look at him now, he couldn't even fight off a cold!" he mocked the monster. "Pathetic!" he declared, only for Brax to leap up suddenly, roaring at him. Cosmo screamed, his face whirling to warp into a terrified expression. "What in the world?" he backed up quickly.
"That's right!" Brax leapt off the table, and the Basherbots quickly pulled the table away. "I fooled you, just like I fooled the Rangers! That was Tynamon's plan all along!" he declared. The crowd began cheering again. "If the Rangers think I'm weak, they'll lower their guard, and bam!" he lashed out. "They'll be down for the count!" the crowd's cheers grew louder.
Aaron landed with a thud, groaning.
"Not bad," Tori nodded as Brody pulled Aaron back to his feet. "You're catching on quick, especially for the newest of the team," she added, and Aaron laughed weakly.
"Thanks. I guess it could be worse than getting my butt handed to me by the red guy," he allowed, making Brody laugh.
"Just don't inflate his ego too much," Tori warned. "Shane could be unbearable. You don't want to deal with that," she told them, making the two laugh.
"You guys had a lot more trouble dealing with Reds than we have," Teddie considered, looking up from her textbook. Tori hummed, thinking about it.
"Well, your mum had a lot of teams to experience that with," she considered, making Teddie giggle. "Okay, go again. Aaron, move with him, not against him," Tori told the Silver Ranger, who moved into a fighting stance as Brody did the same. The others went back to studying, trying to make sure they were prepared for the next test.
"Why is math so boring?" Teddie grumbled, slumping back against Heckyl. He looked down at her, having been watching Aaron and Brody sparring.
"I suppose you humans need to come up with more ways to torture yourselves," he considered, making her smile as his arms went around her and he tilted the book up to see what she was reading. "Though I fail to see what's so difficult about this," he murmured.
"Oh, of course you find it easy," Teddie rolled her eyes, and he chuckled quietly.
"Behave, or I'll drag you in for training too," Tori warned Heckyl. When he let go of the book and raised his hands in defence, Tori smirked. "Sorry, Xander told me to be strict," she told them, and Teddie groaned.
"I'm gonna kill my dad," she muttered. As Tori turned back to watch as Aaron knocked Brody back with a sharp punch, Heckyl pressed a kiss to Teddie's cheek and grinned when she coloured red, trying not to giggle.
"I can't stop thinking about that Brax guy," Daisy admitted, looking up from her notes.
"Yeah?" Hayley looked up, tilting her head.
"It just...didn't feel right, you know?" Daisy shrugged, not sure how to explain it. "My master once told me that confidence is good, but overconfidence is dangerous. Like Sarah and this test. It just doesn't seem right to me," she admitted.
"I think you're right," Hayley agreed. "And Odius isn't about to give up, especially after we beat her Foxatron. We just have to be ready, if he does come back," she looked over at the two still sparring.
"I hope we will be," Daisy murmured.
While Sarah was still confident when everyone got to class the next day, the others were still wary, but feeling as ready as possible for the test.
"Okay class," Mrs. Finch called as she handed everyone out their tests. The moment Sarah saw the first page, her eyes went wide and she turned a sickly pale. "You have one hour to complete Part Two of your math test. No eating and no talking," she told the class.
"Ah, Mrs. Finch?" Sarah raised her hand quickly.
"Yes, Sarah?" Mrs. Finch turned to her.
"I uh, I think you gave me the wrong test," she said, and the teacher walked over to check.
"Nope, that's the right one," she pushed it back to the girl, whose smile was gone entirely. "Okay class, you can begin!" Mrs. Finch called as she went back to her desk, taking a seat. Sarah looked over at her friends, certain they'd be as baffled as she was, but they were all working away.
"Oh no…" she moaned under her breath.
"That was brutal...I'm lucky I got a B," Brody grumbled as they left the class later, after Mrs. Finch had graded their papers in class.
"I got a B+! I'm good with that," Hayley beamed.
"B-, my parents don't have to take my bike off me," Daisy sighed with relief.
"Wow, no wonder you needed to pass so bad," Teddie grinned.
"Thanks for studying with me Preston," Sandy smiled at Preston as they walked out behind Sarah, who looked frazzled. "No way I would have passed without you," she told him, and he smiled back at her, blushing as she headed onto her next class.
"Well they're real cute," Daisy smirked to Teddie, who nodded with a giggle. Preston's blush grew at their words.
"Sarah? You okay?" Aaron asked, seeing the stunned expression on her face.
"Yesterday's test was so simple...but...today's test was so much harder," she turned to them, her hair sticking out from her burying her fingers into it in frustration.
"I didn't think it was that much harder," Teddie admitted. The others nodded.
"I got an F!" Sarah lifted her paper to reveal the big red letter on her test.
"You?" Daisy gave a disbelieving laugh. "You failed?" she demanded as Calvin gasped. None of them could believe that she'd failed. Sarah was the smartest of them all, and while they had all been a little concerned about her not studying the previous day, they hadn't expected her to fail.
"It was not fair for Mrs. Finch to make today's test so much harder than yesterday's!" Sarah shouted, upset at her score. The others winced when the teacher stepped out of the classroom, looking unamused.
"Excuse me," Sarah's eyes widened at the light voice, and turned slowly. "Now, did I say today's test was going to be easy?" Mrs. Finch asked innocently.
"No…"
"No, Sarah. Some tests are tougher than others. Just like the challenges that we face in life," Mrs. Finch told her firmly. "Today's test was tough. So I suggest that next time, you come prepared," with that, she walked off. Aaron whistled as Sarah looked stunned.
"Ouch," he winced sympathetically.
"No kidding," Brody agreed.
"Told you. Overconfidence is dangerous," Daisy glanced to Hayley, who nodded. They were spared the awkward moment, when their communicators beeped.
"What's up Mick?" Brody whispered, answering as the others stood around him to make sure nobody was listening.
"Brax is back," he warned quietly.
"Really? Some monsters just don't learn," Brody frowned, and looked up at his team. "Let's go," they nodded, following him out.
Brax groaned loudly as he wandered through the quarry, looking around.
"Odius says I have to fight the Rangers for her show," he whined, playing up to the audience as the Buzzcams settled, watching him. "But I'm not strong enough! I'm a weakling!" he wailed, falling to his knees. Hearing the Rangers arrive, he gave a fearful cry, getting back to his feet.
"Give it up, Brax!" Brody warned. "You said it yourself, you're no match for us," he called.
"Come on, we don't have to fight!" Brax pleaded. "Ju-just give me your Power Stars, pretty please?" he stammered.
"I guess you're gonna have to learn this lesson the hard way," still angry about her test, Sarah raised her sword to fight him. Brax immediately turned and started running away.
"I'm outta here!" he wailed.
"Sarah!" Brody turned to the Pink Ranger, who nodded and raced on ahead, using her superspeed to get in front of Brax and block his path.
"Stop right there!" she warned him, and he straightened up, smirking.
"Okay, I stopped. But you'll wish I hadn't!" Brax drew his sword and rushed Sarah. As she tried to deflect his attack, expecting it to be as weak as the previous day, Brax moved, getting past her defence and slashing down her front. Sarah cried out, staggering backwards as the monster turned, easily fighting off the rest as they reached him.
"Rockshot!" Levi fired two blasts, but Brax easily cut through them, laughing.
"What?" Brody breathed in horror.
"No way," Sarah groaned, a hand to her chest.
"I knew it…" Daisy muttered as black energy swirled around Brax.
"Fools!" the energy exploded out, slamming into each of the Rangers.
"Whoa," Preston shuddered at the sensation, barely having managed to block the attack. "How'd he get so powerful?" he wondered.
"Not as powerful as our team!" Sarah shouted confidently.
"Let's attack him together," Levi suggested as they regrouped.
"Come on guys, let's take him down with our Whiplash Attack," Sarah suggested.
"Ninja Blasters!" they took aim and fired, but Brax just laughed at the attack. With a wave of his sword, he sent their attacks flying back at the Rangers. They hit the ground hard, groaning.
"Who's laughing now, Rangers?" Brax taunted them.
"This guy's no wimp, he's crazy strong," Preston said as they got back to their feet, all bruising under their suits.
"That performance yesterday was to make us lower our guard," Daisy realised with a scowl as Brax continued to laugh at them.
"Don't worry, you won't survive another hit!" he promised.
"He's right. We gotta get outta here," Hayley told the team. Brax ran at them, only for the team to vanish in smoke. He let out an angry yell.
"You cowards! Come back and face me like true Ninja warriors!" he challenged.
Mick was pacing in the base, waiting for the Rangers to return. He looked up as they staggered in, covered in cuts and bruises.
"Are you okay?" he asked as they caught their breath.
"I thought you said Brax was a weakling," Redbot commented, surprised that they'd taken such a beating from someone they'd had no trouble with the previous day.
"He suddenly got a lot tougher. We were lucky to escape," Brody admitted.
"Seems it's a common ploy of his," they looked at Heckyl as he studied the bruises on Teddie's face.
"Spencer called, he saw your latest opponent," Tori explained. "Brax is a legendary warrior in his galaxy. Undefeated. And he would always make his opponent underestimate him by appearing weaker than he really was," she told them.
"And it worked," Preston sighed. "We didn't face him with our full strength from the get-go. We slacked off, thinking it would be easy," he stated, and the others all nodded in agreement.
"Just like I did in math class," Sarah muttered, looking at the ground. "This is exactly what Mrs. Finch said - 'some tests are tougher than others, just like the challenges we face in life'," she repeated what their teacher had told her.
"While it's great and all that you've learned a lesson here...it doesn't exactly give us what we need to beat Brax," Aaron pointed out. Sarah frowned a little at his words.
"I believe Sarah might have something. Well, if it were ready," Heckyl glanced to the mess of circuitry and metal on the table behind Sarah.
"Come prepared," Sarah remembered the end of Mrs. Finch's brief lecture. She whirled around, lifting what had been the start of the SuperStar Blade before she'd gotten overconfident. "With preparation, we can beat Brax," she smiled, and Mick nodded.
"You're ready to complete your SuperStar Blade," he said, and she nodded.
"So, Brody? What should we do?" Preston asked as they got to work.
"We need to figure out a way to wear Brax down," Brody pointed out. Having a strong new weapon was good, but they needed more.
"Yeah. When we face Brax again, we'll have a plan," Hayley smiled.
Above in the Warriordome, Tynamon had the Kudabots searching for any sign of the Rangers.
"General Tynamon, any sign of the Rangers?" he glanced around as Odius and Eidolon walked into the room.
"No luck yet, Madame," Tynamon responded as he turned to them. "Every Buzzcam you have is scouring the city for those teenage rats," he sighed.
"Good. They can't hide forever," she turned and took a seat.
"Brax sounds ready, Madame," Tynamon told her, bowing.
"Can Brax actually fight them without letting them escape?" Eidolon asked, leaning against the wall. Brax growled at her, still ready to fight her.
"Can you control your underling?" Tynamon snarled, turning to glare at Eidolon. Immediately his staff began to light up blue, and was yanked from his grip.
"I am not her underling," Eidolon said as she tossed the staff aside. She took a step towards Tynamon, a cold expression on her face, and when he stepped back with a yelp, Brax stepped between the two with his sword drawn.
"Enough, all of you," Odious warned. With a scoff, Eidolon kicked the staff back at Tynamon and walked away from Brax. "Eidolon, I'll thank you not to insult our guests. Tynamon, I would ask that you refrain from insulting your hosts," she glanced to the man, who growled.
"Of course. My apologies, Madame," he bowed to her as Eidolon rolled her eyes.
"Brax, make sure you're ready to use that energy to destroy the Rangers this time. No more games," she warned him. Brax nodded.
"The moment they show their faces, I'll teleport in and wipe them out!" he declared.
"Seven...eight!" Tori counted for each move, standing in front of the Rangers as they practiced their moves. "Good work. Take a break," she nodded, impressed by their skill. She then checked her phone as it buzzed, and smiled faintly.
"How's the SuperStar Blade going?" Teddie asked.
"It's going to work with all of our Ninja Stars," she smiled at them.
"That's so much cooler than I imagined," Calvin said, admiring the sword in Sarah's hands.
"What's so special about it?" Hayley asked curiously.
"Well, it's stronger, and…" she smirked.
"Just watch guys," Mick handed over the Lion Fire Star.
"And it aligns my energies, so I can do this," she connected the Star to the sword, which lit up and reacted to the sword, glowing and sparking.
"So you made a more powerful sword that works with the Lion Fire Armour Star too!" Brody realised.
"Brax is in for a real surprise," Levi grinned as Sarah nodded proudly. Heckyl took the sword from her briefly, examining it.
"All this prep is about to pay off big time," Preston bumped her fist with a grin.
"Then let's go," Sarah told them.
Running through the park, the Rangers kept an eye out for Brax, knowing he was waiting for them to reappear. Finally he showed up in a flash behind them, sword already drawn as they turned to him.
"You gutless Rangers finally showed your faces," he growled. "Just in time for me to grind them to dust!" he laughed confidently. "There'll be no escaping for you Rangers this time!" he warned them.
"Sorry Brax," Brody stood tall. "Third time definitely won't be the charm for you," he warned. "It's Morphin' Time!"
"NINJA SPIN!" they Morphed, ready to fight him.
"Time to crush you!" Brax yelled. They ran to fight him, giving it all they had from the start.
"Let's follow the plan!" Sarah shouted.
"Ninja Blaster! Whiplash!" as seven of them used their whiplash to strike Brax, Brody and Levi prepared their attacks nearby.
"Red Ninja Strike! Steel Slash!"
"Storm Star! Tornado Slashes!"
"Final Attack!" the brothers ran in, bombarding him with strikes, but Brax fought them off and shoved them away. He laughed at them as they jumped back.
"Is that all you've got?" he taunted.
"Not even close!" Teddie shouted.
"Hyper Arrow Blast!" Hayley and Sarah fired their arrows.
"Hyper Blade Slash!" Preston, Calvin, Aaron and Daisy joined their attacks with the arrows.
"Hyper Hammer Smash!" Teddie swung her hammer, and the green energy joined with theirs.
"Hyper Claw Shred!" Brody added his own power, throwing the energy towards Brax.
"Final Attack!" Brax gasped as he blocked the move, forced back several paces as it pushed hard against his sword. It sparked before exploding, and Brax was hurled off the ground.
"Nice try," Brax snarled, landing on his feet. His armour smoked, and he held a hand to his stomach. "But I can do this all day," he challenged, but was breathing heavily.
"He's worn out," Brody noticed instantly. "Looks like it's time for the next part of the plan," he told Sarah, handing over the Lion Fire Armour Star.
"Great," she smiled brightly, calling on her sword.
"Great! Let's see how strong our new SuperStar Blade is," she attached the two together. "Lion Fire, Ninja Spin!" Sarah activated the power, only for it to crackle with energy. "Whoa," she breathed. Armour appeared around her, Pink in colour with the silver Lion symbol over her helmet.
"Not Fire," Teddie realised, grinning. "Thunder," she laughed. Sarah's smile widened as she realised the Star was picking up on her own element and giving her armour.
"Lion Thunder Frenzy!" with that, she ran at Brax, hitting him repeatedly with pink energy.
"Yeah! You got him Sarah!" Levi cheered. Sarah knocked Brax's sword up and slashed down his chest with such force he screamed and fell backwards.
"What?!" he groaned from the ground.
"Let's finish him off!" Sarah called to the others.
"Right with you!" they leapt into the air as Brax got back to his feet. Looking up, he let out a yell as he saw Sarah glowing with pink energy.
"SuperStar Slash!"
"Final Attack!" as Sarah started spinning, the others followed her, and she cut through Brax with a boom of thunder before the others hit him too. He exploded, and they landed nearby.
"Our plan worked!" Brody grinned widely.
"That's what I call teamwork," Sarah smiled.
"Brax failed again," Cosmo sighed dramatically as the crowd yelled with anger. "Time to call in a Skullgator!" he turned to the machine, not about to give Brax another chance. However, as he went to use the machine, Badonna ran in and shoved him hard.
"Back off!" she snapped as he fell to the ground with a shriek. "I don't care what you say! My Braxxy is getting a second chance!" she shouted to the crowd.
"What?" Cosmo gasped from the ground.
"Gigantify!" Badonna yelled, slamming the button.
Brax appeared in a flash of purple light, snarling as he grew taller.
"I don't think even your new sword can take him alone now," Aaron commented.
"We're gonna need more than one Megazord to take down this guy," Brody realised, all too aware of Brax's power.
"I think you might be right, bro," Levi agreed.
"Ninja Steel Megazord, combine!"
"Ninja Blaze Megazord, combine!"
"Ninja Spin!" they called on the two Megazords, ready to fight. While Brody, Calvin, Preston and Teddie went to the Ninja Steel Megazord, the others went to the Ninja Blaze Megazord.
"We're good to go!" Sarah called as she lifted the Master Blade.
"Then Brax is going down!" Brody said confidently. "Let's do this!" he shouted as Brax faced them with a growl.
"The gloves are off, Rangers!" he roared.
"No doubt about that," Teddie replied. Brax raised his sword to block the Ninja Steel Megazord's slash, knocking them away in time to stop the Blaze Megazord's attack.
"Dragon Shield!" they raised their shield to defend themselves, stopping Brax's sword.
"Too slow, tough guy!" Brody taunted.
"Take this!" Sarah shouted, and Brax cried out as they kicked him repeatedly from behind, knocking him right into the Ninja Steel Megazord's sword.
"Watch out!" Teddie shouted as four Skullgators suddenly appeared around Brax. He laughed, backing away to catch his breath.
"Can you take on all four?" he challenged.
"Four?" Sarah gasped.
"We have to fight all of them?!" Levi groaned.
"Don't forget Brax!" Aaron reminded. Brax laughed loudly.
"Your fate is sealed! I'll enjoy watching your destruction from the ship!" he declared, turning and walking away.
"Now who's overconfident?" Daisy demanded. "This isn't over yet!" she shouted.
"Then let's take down these Skullgators!" Preston yelled. They moved back into action, fighting the giant monsters.
"They're distracted, now's your chance!" he shouted to the others in the Ninja Blaze Megazord. They threw a serpent punch that ripped through all four.
"Let's finish this! Begin Final Attack!" Brody raised his sword to activate it. "Ninja Spin!" he changed it to a blaster. "Ninja Super Steel Blaster, energised,"
"Ninja Steel Megazord, Master Slash!" the Megazord slashed down as Brody fired a shot, ripping through one of the Skullgators. "Rumble Tusk, Double Axe!" throwing the two axes, they destroyed another. "Astro, Cosmic Blast!" the last two staggered together as the Megazord flew through the air. "Sub Surfer, Riptide Slash! Final Attack!" with one final slash, they ripped through the last two Skullgators, destroying them.
"Show's over! Ninjas win!"
Sarah was bouncing as she walked back into the base, proud of herself. Not only had she made the Superstar Blade that allowed the Rangers to defeat Brax once, she'd impressed Mrs. Finch enough with her apology and determination to do better, that she was allowed to retake the test she'd failed.
"I didn't expect the SuperStar Blade to take Sarah's element instead," Teddie admitted as she admired the new weapon.
"Me neither," Mick admitted, looking over the tests he was running. "It seems that there's more power in the Lion Fire...Lion Armour," he corrected himself with a smile. "Than we expected," he said.
"Does that mean the rest of us can use it with our elements?" Aaron asked, excited to use his newfound element to his advantage.
"In theory, yes," Heckyl nodded as he took the blade from Teddie, making her pout. "It may be like a stronger version of your element blaster, in-tune with that armor that Viera gave Brody," he considered, and without looking at her, put a hand to Teddie's face to cover her pout.
"You are welcome," Sarah winked at them.
"Yeah…" Aaron was a little quieter. Sarah sobered, and took a breath.
"I...I'm sorry guys," she apologised, and glanced to Mick, who gave an encouraging smile. "I know I was a little ridiculous with how overconfident I got," she admitted. "I shouldn't have been so dismissive of you guys wanting to study. Or train," she added, looking over at Tori.
"Like Daisy said, confidence is good," Hayley smiled at her best friend. "Overconfidence...not so much. We know that you're smart. Just remember that not everyone is so brainy," she teased.
"Hey, apparently Sarah isn't either. We all saw that big fat F," Daisy smirked, earning a glare from Sarah as the girl blushed.
"It's like your training," Tori spoke up. "You might be a natural at it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't work to improve yourself. Even if you're told from the start how great you are," she said, and Sarah's blush grew as the former Blue Ranger hit the nail on the head. Being told constantly how smart she was definitely clouded her vision sometimes. "And speaking of training, you've missed a lot," Tori smirked.
"Ouch," Teddie giggled.
"Brody, Calvin and Levi, you get to join her," Tori added, and the three gaped at her.
"Why us?" Levi complained.
"Because you haven't made up for the training you missed when you were under a love spell," she told them, and they groaned.
"Don't remind us of that," Daisy looked appalled. Aaron grinned.
"I see Tori is taking your training just as seriously as her own classes," they looked around to see two step into the base. One was tall and blond, seeming sort of familiar to the team, while the other was shorter with black hair and a wide grin.
"Perhaps if you thought to have classes of your own, you'd understand," Tori replied, hands on her hips.
"No way, you're Blake Bradley!" Calvin gasped, recognising the famous racer.
"Here we go," Hunter shook his head.
"Jealous bro?" Blake teased, and his brother shoved him away.
"Two Thunders? What an honour," Teddie smiled at the two as Blake walked over and hugged Tori.
"Just don't be as much of a brat as Ari for this," Hunter told her.
"I'm telling her you said that," Teddie replied, and he folded his arms.
"That would be being as much of a brat as Ari. You will regret this when you start Thunder training," he warned her, and Teddie's smile widened.
"Guys, this is Blake and Hunter Bradley. Thunder Ninjas and the Navy and Crimson Ninja Storm Rangers," Tori introduced the pair.
"Oh man, why couldn't my element be Thunder?" Calvin groaned, in awe.
"I'll be telling Ari you said that," Tori warned him, and Calvin went pale.
"Please no…" he groaned.
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